Envelop-sealing machine.



No. 891,277. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908.;

J. A. MARKOE.

ENVELOP 'SEALING'MAOHINIE.

APPLIO ATION IILBD APR. 23. 1906.

I 2 SHEBTSSHEET 2.

Wikes'sea.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

- JOHN A. MARKOE, or wni'rn BEAR, MINNESOTA.

ENVELOP-SEALING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent Patented June 2a, 1908.

Application filed April 23, 1906. Serial No. 313,229.

My present invention is in the nature of an.

improvement on, the device set forth and claimed in my pending United States a'p li-' cation Serial Number 253,265, filed April l, 1905, and allowed October 25,1905, entitled Envelop sealing machines, and has for its object to improve the same in the several particulars hereinafter noted.

. The invention consists of the novel devices and combinations ofdevice's hereinafter de? scribed and defined in the'claims. v

In the accomp anying-drawings which illustrate the invention,- like characters indicate;

like'parts throu bout the several views.

Figure I is a an viewof the improved ma chine. Fig. 2 is-a detail, looking at the faces of thethree feed rollers of the machine. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through the feed roller on the line w as? of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a left side elevation of the machine; Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken through the machine on the line :0 m of Fig. 1; and Fi 6 is a view correisiponding to Fig. 5, but i ustrating ga modi ed construction, with some. parts broken away, and with someparts removed. The numeral 1 indicates apair of laterally spaced upright bearing plates which, as. s own, are rigidly connected by transversely 4 extended tie rods 2, 3, 4 and 5. The envelope z are delivered over an inclined deck made up. ofa plurality of parallel rods 6, the outer ends of which are secured to a transverse tie rod'7',- andthe inner'ends of which are secured to a transverse deck bar 8, the ends of which are secured to the bearing plates 1. The "tie rod 7 is supported, by a pair of upright, rods 9, the lower ends of 1 are 'secured'to the -lowe1""tie bar*10, while -water contained wit which are tied togetherby a} transverse rod. 10. receiving deck,*or table, needed of. apair3of parallel rods';11, underlies-.the eed deckortable 6; The outer ,-'ends of the rod of the bearing plates 1 and issecurable in different adjustments by thumb-screws 1'4.

Mounted to work on the rods 6 of the feed deck, is a gravity actuated follower head 15,

having an inclined face and providedwith, small wheels 16 and 17 that run u on the said rods and guide the said follower sad for straight line movements.

. The .envelops are placed in a stack, with their flaps partially opened-and overlapped,

as shown in- Fig; 5, and b the follower head 15, the gummed flaps t ereof are pressed against a .water distributing roller 18 that runs incontact with a water supply roller 19 artially su mer ed in a transversey ex-v tended trough 20 that is supported, at its which, in turn, is

ends, by the bearing plates 1. As shown,

water is supplied to the trough 20, in which a constant level is maintained, from an inverted water box 21 having a de ending discharge-neck 22 and, asshown, oosely rests upon one edge of-the'trough: 20 and on top 0 the. tie rod 2. The flaps of the envelope are lightly pressed downward toward roller '18 by a fla pressing rod 23, the forward end of-which oosely pivoted on the intermediate'portionohthe rod 2. g g

The -envelops are fed, oneat a .time,from

the feed deck 6 and thence to the receiving deck 11,by three cooperating feed-rollers 24, 25; and 26, that=run in closeengagement with each other and the'shafts of whch are journaled in the bearing'p lates land at one side of the machine, are provided, respectively,

the r0 er 26 is also provided with an operatwith sfirocke'ts'27, 28-.and 29. The shaft of.

ing crank 30 adapting the feed rollers to be run'by hand, but, of course,-when-power device, such as an electric :motor-is to be emloyed, other connections be ';-pr'ovided./ The shaft of the water distributing roller 18 is provided with a sprocket 31f .thatzahnes wit 7 chain =32 runs under thesprockets 27 *and 29 andpover' the: sprockets. 28 and 31, and also overan idle gu desheave 33, mountedzoii zthe adjacent :bearing 'lates [:B lthis .:means,

the sprockets 2-7 ,28 and 29. Aasprocket 1 the three feed ro ers, 1,as ..we as the rtwo 30., The roller 25 511.88 a limited yie movement'with respeot to'.the roller':2fi,'

60' verted envelops, from a position in line with 65 gummecl flapsof the envelops, in passing besubject to s rings 34 and 35 that are ahchored to t e bearing plates 1. The said bearing plates are, of course, slotted to permit limited lateral movements of the shafts of the rollers 24 and 25. p

The roller 26 is preferably provided with a smooth rubber face. The intermediate roller 25 is formed with quite deep corrugations and, a at its ends, is provided with smooth sections 10 outer portions of the corrugated part of said roller, sothat the two rollers 25 and 26 are caused toriin smoothly, when inengagement.

Said roller 25 isalso preferably with peripheral grooves which, at the under surface of the roller, receive the forwardly projecting ends of guide fingers 36 secured to the tie rod 5. The up er roller 24, at its central. portion, prefera 1 has a corrugated section 24 and, at its en that are of the same diameter as the outer portions of the corrugated section 24, so, that the two rollers 24 and 25 run smoothl F when in engagement.

As the envelops are fed, one at a time, between the rollers 24 and 25, their gummed fla s are drawn over the water distributing roller 18 and, hence, are moistened. As the envelops are fed forward from between the rollers 24 and 25, they are inverted, or turned with their flap equipped edgesdownward, and their'up an inclined efiecting plate 37, the ends of which are secured to the bearing plates '1 approximately over the roller 26, and in position to direct the envelops between theroll-- ers 25 :and 26. a Adjustably secured to the back of the deflectingplate 37., by means of athumb screwi38, .isa stop plate 39, the u per end of which is turned inward so as to a ord a positive stop for limiting the upward movements of the envelops. The a justment of Y the stop 39' permits 1t to be set for envelopsv of diiierent size or width. Loosely pivoted on the tie rod 2 and loosely restingupon shoulders 40 of the stop 39, are one or more, as "shown two, stop rods 41. These stop rods yielding] resist the upward movementof the enve op and assist in imparting an in tial downward movementto the envelop, thereby forcing the same between the feed rollers 25and26.

The tie rod-3, it will be noted, by reference to Fig. 5, stands in position to prevent the envelo s from being carried upward and over t e u perfeed roller 24. As the envelops areedbetweenthe rollers 25 and 26,

'their moistened flaps are pressedtightly closed. The corrugations of the roller 25'as- .sistin carrying the lower edges of the inthe passage between the rollers 24 andi25, to a positionin line with the assage between the Killers 25 and 26.' e, moistened,

25 that are of the same diameter as "thehas smooth sections 24 rods 11 er edges are delivered against adapted for use in handling tween the rollers 24 and 25 engage only with the narrow corrugated surface 24? of the roller 24 and, hence, find but little roller surface with which the may tend to adhere.

When very thin etters, that is envelo s 7 containing matter of but very little thic ness, are fed through the machine, there is sometimes a tendency for two envelops to stick together or to be fed frictionally at the same time between the rollers 24 and 25. To prevent this, I place a soft rubber friction strip 42 on the deck bar 8, adjacent to the roller 24, as shown in Fig. 5. This'friction device may be made adjustable, by means of a screw 43, so that itmaybe moved in an operative position close to the roller 24, when thin letters are to be fed, and may be moved backward into ino erative position, :when thick letters are to liejfedfi 4 v V The sealed envelops that are fed downward andrearward from between the rollers 25 and 26', aredelivered against a guide plate 44 whichis secured to the bearing plates 1, in an uprightposition and has a curvedupper ed e. he envelops are accumulated on the 90 and are' forced a ainst a clamping head 45 that rides upon tie rod 11 and, as shown, is adapted to be fricti'onally clamped Q thereto, under the desired tension, by a nutted bolt '46 and a clamping bar 47, which'la't ter engages the under surfaces of said rods 11.

B vertical'adjustments of the tie rod 12, the orward ends of the rod 11 may be raised and lowered to adapt the machine to envelv ops of difl'erentsize. The guide fingers 36 prevent the envelops-from being carried upward, by the intermediate roller 25 Inthe modified construction illustrated in Fig. 6, a fourth roller 48 which has frictional contact with the roller 24, is journaled in the bearing plates 1. Cooperating with the roller 48 is a hinged deflectingplate 49, the upper edge of whichis pivoted on a rod 50, supports by the bearing lates 1, and the lowered e of whichis su ject to a. spring Iink51'w jch, as shown, is pivoted on the rod '4. This modified construction is especially envelops that are heavily filled,- orfilled with bulky matter, because the ressure of said plate 49 greatly 1 assists in sea g the envelop, and the roller' 48 assists in forcing the same downward between the rollers 25 and 26.

What I claim is: 1. The combination with a moistening de vice and cooperating movable upper and lower and intermediate. feed devices, of means for directing the wired flaps of the envelops to the sald molstening device while subject to one of said feed devices, and a yielding flap-pressing rod or armarranged topress the envelop flapsgagalnst tllBlDflOlS- tem device,*'substantiall as descri ed. 2. he combination wit aimoistening device including a water distributing roller, of a I bination with means for moistenin yielding flap pressing rod. overlying said roller, upper an lower and intermediate feed rollers, and a, deflecting device, "said u per and intermediate rollers being arrange to feed the envelops and to carry their umr'ned flaps' over the water distributing ro ler, and

from between the uper and intermediate rollers, and to'direct ,t e same between theintermediate and lower rollers, and. a yielding stoprod overlying saidfeed rollers and arranged .to assist in im artin an initial movement of, the inverte enve 0p between said intermediate and lower feed rollers, sub

stantially as described. v

4. In an envelop sealing machine, the combination with means for moistening the flaps thereof, of upper and lower and intermediate feed rollers, a deflecting. plate arranged to.

receive the envelope delivered from between said upper and intermediate feed rollers, and

to deliver thesame between said. intermediate and lower feed,rollers,and a'pivoted gravity actuatedstop rod overlying said feed rollers, and arranged to assist in imparting an initial; movement of'th'e inverted envelop betweensaid intermediate; and. lower feed,

rollers, substantially as described. 4

5. In anenvelop sealing machine, the combination with i means for, moistenin' the gurhmed. flaps thereof, of upper and plate arranged to receive the. 'envelops fe from between [theup er gandaintermediate rollers and to. direct t e same between the intermediate and .lower rollers, a stop plate 1igidly butadjustably secured with respect, 'totsaid deflectlngplate, and a yielding stop rodloosely resting u on'said-sto late, and adjustable "therewit 'substant1al as descrlbed"; 5o

.' binationjwith a moisteni and lowerandainterniediate .feed devices extending arallel with andlbelowg said 6. Inanenvelop sealing machine, theconidevice, .of upper mo1stemng evice,of a elding stop arranged to act upon the ewe ops and to'assist in I 7 ower. and intermediate feed.rollers,-j a deflecting as v I v .In't'estimony-whereof I-affix my in presence oftwo witnesses.

directingthe same between theintermediate and--lower feed devices, substantially as described 1 7. In an envelop sealing machine, the

combination with a corrugated intermediate feed roller, of a cooperating upper feed roller 'corrugated at its central portion onl a lower feed' device cooperating'with sai 1n' termediate feed roller, means for'directin g} the en'velops between said upper and intermediate feed rollers, and means for molstenthe flaps of theenvelops while they are 'belng thus fed to the said intermediate and upper feed'rollers, substantially asdescribed. v w

8. I In an envelop sealing machine, the combination of upper and lower and intermediatefeed rollers, said intermi'ediate feed roller being corrugated, and said up er feed roller being corrugated at its centra portion only, and the said upper and intermediate rollers having smooth engaging end port ions,"sub,--

stantially asand for the purposesset forth.

9. In an envelop sealin machineg'jithe combination with upper'andower andintermediate-feedrollers, of a deflecting device arranged to receive theenvelops from between "said intermediate-and upper feed rollers, and

to deliver the same between said interme diate and lower feed rollers, al'vertically ad'ustable receiving deckbelow said-f feed rollers, and a pair .of clamping :member's'for. upon said"; receiving elampin members is holdingthe, envelope deck, one. of 'whic movable with respect .to the ot er, to permit the accumulation of envelops, substantially 'as-described I 10. In an envelop j sealing. machine, the

combination with a feed: roller and 1006p! crating upper and ,low'er feed .devices, of a; moistening device with which" the gummed "flaps of the envelops are adaptedtobe engaged as they are movedibetw'een said roller andithe upper cooperating feed device, and a yielding stop arranged to' aetup'o'n' the envelops with a force tendin to press the same. e

gewise between' said eed roller'andthe "e06 erating'lower reed device, substantially. 'escribedf 1 1 JOHN A. MARKon. iWitn'esses:

' MALIE HOEL,

F. D. MERCHANT.

signature 

